Home to Walmart and several of its ancillary businesses, Arkansas has long thrived as a distribution hub. However, it is also continually climbing the ranks in innovation and technology. Ambitious plans to educate students in computer science and coding, combined with new innovation centers in Little Rock and Fayetteville are now producing startups. Amazon, Emerson and Mars Petcare have all announced projects in the Natural State in the past year.
Advantage Arkansas: Offers a state income tax credit for the creation of jobs with wages equal to or above the lowest county average hourly wage.
Tax Back: Provides sales and use tax refunds on the pur- chase of building materials, machinery and equipment to eligible businesses.
Equity Investment Tax Credit: Offers a discretionary income tax credit of up to 33.3% of amount invested for technology-based businesses offering wages above stateor county averages.
Create Rebate: Provides a discretionary incentive that provides annual cash payments based on a company’s annual payroll for new, permanent employees.
Customized Training Grants: The grants offer reimbursement for both on- and off-site training for newly created positions related to an expansion or new location.
Arkansas Economic Development Commission
arkansasedc.com
Association of Arkansas Development Organizations
arkansaseconomicregions.org
Little Rock Regional Chamber
littlerockchamber.com/economic-development
Fort Smith Regional Alliance
fortsmithregionalalliance.com
Shortly before the pandemic hit, Arkansas rolled out its Future Fit program. The program helps place qualified workers directly into jobs with participating companiesthroughout the state. Participants complete a training program that prepares them for entry-level employment with these companies. The program can be tailored to industry-specific training for each region of the state and is now offered at more than a dozen colleges.
4 Fortune 500 companies headquartered in state:
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